From historic tea rooms to dining spaces designed by renowned architects, these beautiful museum cafes are every bit as compelling as the collections they serve
No museum tour is complete without a visit to the on-site café – if only to assess how the dining offer measures up against an institution’s architecture, exhibits and cultural values. The best museum cafes honour the spirit of their surroundings while striking a note of contrast: a contemporary design detail or two enlivens an historic interior and shows that a venue can move with the times. Here, we’ve selected 11 of the most beautiful museum cafes and restaurants across the globe that combine high style with fine dining.
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V&A Café, V&A Museum, London
Opened in 1868, the V&A Café set the template for all other museum cafés, as the first venue of its kind in the world. It consists of three ornately decorated rooms: the central focus is the Gamble Room, decorated by designer James Gamble with layers of Italian Renaissance-inspired majolica tiles, enamelled-iron sheets on the ceilings, and stained-glass doors. Adjoining it are the Morris Room, designed by William Morris with Gothic and Elizabethan influences, and the Poynter Room, which features blue-and-white tiles reminiscent of Middle Eastern ceramics. The flamboyant décor is not only representative of the V&A’s collections, but also eminently practical, designed to be easy to clean and resistant to fire, steam and cooking smells.
Ladurée at the Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza
Parisian patisserie Ladurée brings a dash of French elegance to the contemporary architecture of the Grand Egyptian Museum, thanks to its filigree white-and gold interior. Crystal chandeliers, panoramic murals and brushed-gold walls and ceilings lend glamour to the neoclassical space, which naturally serves Ladurée’s signature macarons and teas. For a more regional flavour, there’s also Beano’s Café, decorated in local materials like Aswan granite, alabaster and basswood.
Bar Luce, Fondazione Prada, Milan
Fans of Wes Anderson won’t want to miss Bar Luce at the Fondazione Prada – the American film director designed the café in 2015, describing the project as a “childhood fantasy come true”. Adorned with retro wooden panelling, flashes of pistachio-green and pink Formica, and architectural murals that reimagine the glass decoration of Milan’s famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele shopping emporium, the space also evokes a classic Milanese café. It’s whimsical and unique, just like Anderson’s films – and naturally, it serves great coffee.
Louvre Abu Dhabi
Jean Nouvel’s modern architectural masterpiece boasts a variety of dining experiences with spectacular views of the sea and the Abu Dhabi skyline. In addition to the main museum café, there are pop-up experiences at different times of year, such as the Trio coffee shop beneath the museum’s latticework dome, and the Art Lounge, which opens on the rooftop in the cooler months (from September). The latter is one of the best places in the city to watch the sun go down.
Café im Kunsthistorischen Museum, Vienna
Opened in the 1890s, Vienna’s principal fine arts museum has at its centre a soaring, marble-clad octagonal cupola with views of the historic Maria-Theresien-Platz square. The cupola hall, with its gilded archways and ornately tiled floor, plays host to a Café-Restaurant where you can admire the architecture from red sofas tucked beneath black marble columns. The menu is in the best tradition of Vienna’s celebrated coffee houses, and on Thursday evenings, the space transforms into a restaurant for atmospheric dinner dates.
Café 1902, Petit Palais, Paris
Built for the 1900 Universal Exposition, the Petit Palais has been a museum since 1902, and is an enchanting mix of galleries and gardens in metropolitan Paris. Café 1902 is one of its chief attractions, especially in good weather, when its patrons can relax in the tree-filled courtyard. Though its surroundings are classically French, the café interior is understatedly modern, with details in wood, marble and canework, and accents of petrol blue.
Bacha Coffee, Dar El Bacha Museum, Marrakech
Where better to have a great coffee experience than Marrakech? Bacha Coffee is a beautiful courtyard café in the Dar El Bacha palace, the historic former residence of the Pasha of Marrakech, which is now a museum. Its salons, gardens and fountains are fine examples of traditional Moroccan architecture, and the café pays tribute to this with its fretwork screens, palm trees in elaborate jardinières, and chequered flooring. It’s also a haven for coffee connoisseurs: here you can sample over 200 single-origin varieties from around the world, masterfully brewed.
Museo Correr, Venice
The Museo Correr is dedicated to the arts, culture and history of Venice, and stepping into its café feels like a very city-specific experience: romantic classical tableaux adorn the walls, the banquettes are clad in amethyst velvet, and marble tiles are arranged in complex patterns on the floor. The menu is inspired by Venetian artists, and thanks to the café’s location on the first floor, it’s the perfect spot to observe goings-on in neighbouring St Mark’s Square.
National Kitchen by Violet Oon, National Gallery Singapore
Southeast Asian art and heritage come to the fore at the National Gallery Singapore, which occupies two restored historical monuments, the former Supreme Court and City Hall. Chef Violet Oon’s National Kitchen is the perfect complement – focusing on Singapore’s culinary heritage, it serves “heirloom recipes” blended with influences from China, Malaysia and India. The venue’s interior is dark and opulent, with details in black, gold and emerald green illuminated by mirrors and crystal chandeliers. Visitors should try the Singapore High Tea, a reimagining of the classic afternoon tea starring Coronation chicken and coconut pannacotta.
Le Nélie, Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris
Overlooking the courtyard garden of the much-loved Musée Jacquemart-André is Le Nélie, a restaurant-tea room known for its delicious pastries. Once a private mansion belonging to art collectors Edouard Andrée and his wife Nélie Jacquemart, the museum dates from the late 19th century, and its café has retained much of the original residence’s grandeur. Gilt-framed tapestries hang on the antique panelled walls, and the menu features dishes inspired by artists in the museum’s collection.
Absis Restaurant, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona
Since 1934, the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya has occupied the Palau Nacional of Montjuïc, built for the International Exposition of 1929. Bringing together art from across the ages (including some of the world’s best Romanesque murals, and works by Gaudí, Miró and Picasso), its soaring spaces include a marble-clad former throne room that now houses Absis, a bracingly contemporary café-restaurant. Unfolding like a modern intervention, the design contrasts swathes of original stone with a slanting mirrored ceiling and partitions in timber and gold. The panoramic views of Barcelona from the Montjuïc hillside are to die for.
